• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

DONATE
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Bloggers
    • ESN Writing Inquiries
    • Commenting Policy
  • Reading Lists
  • Scholar’s Compass
    • Scholar’s Compass Discussion Guide
    • Scholar’s Compass Posts
    • Scholar’s Compass Booklet
  • Connect
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Donate
    • Contact Us
Home » Cultivating Humility (Growing Spiritually in the Academic Life Series)

Cultivating Humility (Growing Spiritually in the Academic Life Series)

February 3, 2019 by Johnny Wei-Bing Lin Leave a Comment

Photo by Mark Dries

At Emerging Scholars Network, we love to crowdsource ideas for following Christ faithfully and serving others well in the academic life. In the 2018/2019 academic year, we’ve been sharing brief insights on how to grow spiritually in the academic life. Read the series to date here. For more of Johnny Lin’s writing for ESN, click here.  


A major “spiritual occupational hazard” for an academic is thinking too much of yourself. This can show itself as pride and arrogance . . . or finding yourself unable to understand the students in a class you’ve taught one too many times.

The traditional antidote to pride has been humility. For an academic, C.S. Lewis’s view of humility as a kind of “self-forgetfulness” is particularly helpful: Do I rejoice in another’s accomplishments no more (or less) than if it were my own (or if it were a phenomena of nature)? Here are some ways of nurturing this kind of humility:

  • Practice the truth that you are not your job: Take a Sabbath (and no emails!). Purpose that at every conference you attend you’ll meet someone who cannot help your career.
  • Purposely pursue and embrace mystery in some area of life.
  • Bring every aspect of your career to God in surrender and trust: Rice University chemist James Tour literally brought his funding proposals to the front of the chapel of his school and prayed over them.
  • Be a debtor not a creditor of love: Avoid thinking others owe you this or that but instead consider yourself as owing others a debt of love: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (Rom 13:8, NIV)
Johnny Wei-Bing Lin
Johnny Wei-Bing Lin

Johnny is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Computing
Education in the Computing and Software Systems Division of the U. of
Washington Bothell and an Affiliate Professor of Physics and Engineering
at North Park U. He is the author of the textbook A Hands-On
Introduction to Using Python in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

and the environmental ethics book The Nature of Environmental
Stewardship
. Johnny is a past Executive Council President of the
American Scientific Affiliation, a network of Christians in the sciences.
He has three children (Timothy, James, and Christianne) and one wife
(Karen) who keep him busy and happy, not necessarily in that order.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • More
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Filed Under: Christian Thought and Practice Tagged With: C. S. Lewis, conference, humility, Love, mystery, Prayer, sabbath-keeping, self-centered, tips for the academic's spiritual life

Reader Interactions

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Become a Member

Membership is Free. Sign up and receive our monthly newsletter and access ESN member benefits.

Join ESN Today

Scholar’s Compass Booklet

Scholar's Compass Booklet

Click here to get your copy

Top Posts

  • The Message of Genesis 1
  • Book Review: The Problem of Pain
  • Head, Heart & Hands: Fragmented Faith and Fragmented People (Intro/Chapter 1)
  • Dealing with Tension between Science and the Bible
  • A Prayer for Those Finishing a Semester

Facebook Posts

Facebook Posts

Footer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

  • Sharing the Scholar’s Journey
  • Science Corner: “From a Certain Point of View”
  • Encouraging One Another

Article Categories

Footer Logo
© 2025 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®. All rights reserved.
InterVarsity, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, and the InterVarsity logo are trademarks of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and its affiliated companies.

Member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us